Online Newspaper by and for Students ofSt. Ignatius College Preparatory, San Francisco

Rethinking Africa: The staff of the African Advocacy Network includes Joe Sciarrillo, pictured here with Jean Elias Xavier, Director Aboudou Traore, Charles Jackson and Clementine Ntshaykolo outside their office in the Dolores Street Community Services building. They help a growing number of African immigrants to the Bay Area who may number as many as 50,000.

Retiring Pillars: SI’s faculty surprised Fr. Sauer in May with applause and flowers after the announcement of his reassignment.

The SI boys’ lacrosse team enjoyed what may have been best year since its founding nearly a quarter century ago. The lacrosse press ranked the team among the top 15 in the nation as SI turned in another undefeated season in league play – its fourth undefeated season since it joined the WCAL in 2010.

Richard Driscoll ’06, a performance engineer for Oracle Team USA that will defend the America’s Cup in September, is among the few locals hunkering down in Pier 80 off Marin Street, where they work 65-hour weeks to make sure that Ellison’s boat sails twice as fast as the wind and maneuvers with precision and power as it takes on challengers from around the world.

Retiring Pillars: Since the 1970s, Mary McCarty made sure Latin was a living language for students in her classes.

Rethinking Africa: Ira Shaughnessy ’00 spent two years in Ghana from 2007 to 2009 working with the Bormase helping with the cultivation of the Moringa tree, whose leaves are rich in vitamins.

Sports

Although the varsity girls' soccer season isn't over yet, one highlight game of the season so far is the 2-0 shutout against St. Francis in late December. The St. Francis Lancers have always been a tough competitor in both defense and offense, so the Wildcats were in for a challenge. However, the varsity girls went above and beyond; they put away two goals and prevented St. Francis from scoring, a feat they had never before accomplished.

SI went into this game missing a few top players and their assistant coach, yet if this fact hindered the team, it barely showed. The team played a phenomenal first half. Sophomore starter Veronica Alberts '16 noted, "The main reason we won was that we played like a team. We passed smoothly and communicated very effectively."

During the first 30 minutes, SI fought fiercely and gained control of the field. Soon enough, Mia Vernic '14 scored to put the Cats in the lead. Minutes later, Amanda Castillo ‘14 scored an amazing volley in the corner net to bring SI up to 2-0. “The shot was so flawless and so amazing. Amanda's goal gave the team the momentum we needed to win,” commented Soleil Brisbane ’14. Shortly after the second goal, senior Candy Janachowski '14 got injured, but the Cats kept up their aggressive play.

The second half became solely a defensive game. The Cats maintained their intense motivation from the first half and prevented St. Francis from controlling the game. The SI defense even stopped St. Francis' star offensive player Annie King- man, a regionally-ranked player and scorer of a record 10 goals in six games. "We came prepared," stated defensive player Madeliene Long '15. "We knew which players were threats, so we were able to hone in on their offense and thwart most of their threatening plays." The game finished off with the 2-0 score and another victory for the soccer ’Cats. Congratulations girls' soccer!